Houston man sentenced for defrauding others of $1.4 million, false promises for legal immigration

HOUSTON - A Houston man has been sentenced for scamming multiple people with fake promises of helping them gain legal immigration status, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

Houston crime: Man sentenced for immigration scam

What they're saying:

The DOJ announced on Thursday that 58-year-old Jesus Carlos Silva will serve the maximum five-year sentence in federal prison for conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud. After the sentence, he will be under supervised release for three years.

Silva pleaded guilty to the charge in July 2025.

According to the DOJ, Silva pretended to be an immigration attorney under a Houston-based law firm. From March 2022 to Dec. 2024, he charged people $10,000–15,000 for his "assistance" to obtain U.S. citizenship or another form of legal immigration status in less than a year.

Officials say Silva never provided legitimate assistance and made excuses for his delays before eventually cutting off communication with his victims.

Silva reportedly admitted to scamming over 100 people in Texas, Louisiana, Illinois, and Florida out of over $1.4 million.

The DOJ says Silva also told some of his "clients" to come to Houston for appointments with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The victims came to Houston, but learned there were no appointments.

Silva was allowed to remain on bond and surrender himself to a federal prison that will be chosen in the near future.